Monday, November 14, 2011

Saving Paul Ryan

With the clock ticking down on a deadline to come up with a deficit reduction plan, our "leaders" are mulling a variation on "check is in the mail" theme: Do the spending cuts now and leave the revenue decisions to the House and Senate tax-writing committees.

“There could be a two-step process that would hopefully give us pro-growth tax reform,” Representative Jeb Hensarling of Texas, the top Republican on the panel, said Sunday on the CNN program “State of the Union.”

Leave aside the idea of a Texas two-step and consider the bargain being offered by Republicans: we'll do what we want now and then do what you want next year.

All you need to know about the sincerity of the proposal is the reaction from Grover Norquist, the man to whom the GOP pledges allegiance to over the flag:

"I am not losing any sleep” over the Republicans’ latest proposal ... “at the end of the day, the Republican House will not pass a tax increase.”

He's undoubtedly correct that the House which brought you Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's slash-and-burn plan -- the one that lowered taxes on the wealthy -- is unlikely to do anything to burden the 1 percent.

The GOP proposal allegedly on the table is a token, a political gesture designed to make it look as if Democrats are the ones unwilling to compromise. And why do I fear that the Donkey Party will fall for it?